Chelsea have confirmed that Oscar will join Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG in January.
The Brazilian attacking midfielder will link up with former Blues coach Andre Villas-Boas in the Far East, with Chelsea set to pocket a £52 million transfer fee “at the beginning of the January transfer window
.”
Oscar ends a spell of four and a half years at Chelsea, having joined from Brazilian club Internacional in 2012.
A club statement read: “We thank Oscar for his wonderful service and wish him the very best of luck for the future.”
The deal had long been in the pipeline, with the club now providing confirmation that the 25-year-old has played the last of his 203 appearances for the club, in which he managed 38 goals.
Oscar is set to earn £300,000 a week, with the transfer fee the largest Chelsea have ever received.
He won two Premier League titles and the Europa League with the Blues, scoring plenty of memorable goals, including a stunning strike against Juventus.
He was an important player for Chelsea in the past, but Antonio Conte’s arrival as manager and the switch to a 3-4-3 formation meant he struggled for game-time this season.
The midfielder made nine appearances in the Premier League this season, but only completed 90 minutes on one occasion.
Conte is reportedly keen to reinforce his defence with the money from Oscar’s sale.
Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci is his dream signing, while AC Milan’s Alessio Romagnoli, Roma’s Antonio Rudiger and Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk also targets.
Midfield is also an area which needed strengthening, with Roma’s Radja Nainggolan, Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti, Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi and Inter Milan’s Geoffrey Kondogbia the options being considered.
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